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LPA to crack down on unauthorised buildings from today

Collector Karunagaran says special teams with police, fire services, revenue and planning officials will be formed

Keeping a watch:Police on guard on Friday at the office complex which caught fire in Coimbatore on Thursday. —PHOTO: S. SIVA SARAVANAN

The Coimbatore Local Planning Authority (LPA) will begin, on Saturday, action against 201 unauthorised constructions in the city, District Collector and Chairman of the LPA M. Karunagaran told presspersons on Friday. The announcement follows the fire at Vigneshwar Cresta on Avanashi Road in Coimbatore on Thursday that claimed four lives and injured nine persons.

The incident brought back focus on unauthorised constructions in the city and on buildings that did not adopt the safety norms. Even a few months ago, the LPA had sealed or demolished some unauthorised structures and served notices on many others.

The Collector said most of the 201 buildings were commercial structures that were identified by the LPA and Coimbatore Corporation. The Corporation was asked to take action almost a year ago on 55 buildings. The officials would start sealing these buildings now.

However, the Collector did not say categorically whether the building on Avanashi Road junction, where there was a fire on Thursday, was identified earlier for building rule violations or deviations.

He said that in three days, teams comprising police, fire service personnel, revenue and planning department officials would be formed to check all the public buildings in the district for building rule violations, deviations, unapproved structures, and lack of safety norms.

The teams were expected to give their report in 15 days. Based on the report, action would be taken on buildings with violations. Though the immediate focus is on public buildings, action would be taken on all multi-storeyed and special buildings that violated the norms, he said.

Coimbatore Consumer Cause secretary K. Kathirmathiyon was of the firm view that in addition to the action against existing structures, there was a dire need to inspect ongoing constructions and stopping these forthwith if violations were found.

It is not enough if the civic body merely levies a penalty. These should be demolished. If a building has plenty of violations, fix accountability on not only the owner, but also on all the officials who had not checked the structures.